Lemon & Blueberry Coffee Cake

There's something about cake for breakfast. And I don't mean pancakes smothered in maple syrup, or a cake donut from the shop down the street. I mean pure, actual cake -- or, more precisely, cake that doesn't pretend to be anything else. I mean coffee cake, which could be one of the most overlooked indulgent breakfast goods you can get your hungry hands on. Starbucks, in fact, did it right: If you've ever experienced their blueberry coffee cake, you know what I'm talking about. But this is better. It's all the same beauty of blueberries with a crumb topping, PLUS a pop of lemony citrus that's both in the cake and outside of it in a sweet, tangy glaze. And if you're truly fearless and shameless and everything else that is good in the world, you'll have a slice of yellow cake with icing and sprinkles and the whole shebang... but we're talking about breakfast here. And there is nothing (nothing!!) like a fresh slice of coffee cake with a mug of black coffee in the morning. And that's all I have to say about that.

But if you didn't come here to read about how great coffee cake is and you just want to read the recipe, you can find it here, too.

Ingredients

For the crumb topping:

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup all purpose flour

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the cake:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup whole milk or cream

1 tablespoon lemon zest

2 cups fresh blueberries

For the glaze:

1 cup confectioners' sugar

2 - 2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Generously grease a 9-inch springform cake pan (you can also use a normal cake pan, it just won't serve as easily).

Make the crumb topping in a small bowl by mixing all ingredients with a fork until crumbly. Refrigerate until ready to use.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer set with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla and milk, and mix until incorporated. Mix in lemon zest. Add flour mixture and mix until just combined and no flour pockets remain. Gently fold in blueberries and pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle with crumb topping (yes, use all of it - trust me).

Bake in preheated 350 oven for 50 - 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Cool 5-10 minutes, then run a knife around the edges and remove ring.

Cool completely before serving and enjoying with your coffee! The cake stores wonderfully covered at room temperature for 2-3 days.

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